| Founded | 2003 in Indianapolis, Indiana |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Website | indyprov.com |
INDYPROV formed after completing a series of workshops conducted by David Brunoehler in October, 2003 at Crackers Comedy Club in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Brunoehler, an Indianapolis native, was a founding member of the troupe “Interplay” and had co-founded the National Improv Theatre in New York City. Brunoehler also performed for Paul Newman and Ron Howard. Several members of the class were led and encouraged by Brunoehler to form an improvisational troupe. INDYPROV performed for the first time at “El Sol de Tala” on December 15, 2003. INDYPROV continued to perform at “El Sol de Tala” for several months and followed up with a long-running show at “The Funny Bone Comedy Club” in Indianapolis. INDYPROV has since performed musical and sketch improv at multiple venues in Indiana including: Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Metro Nightclub, Canary Café and currently at Talbott Street Nightclub, Theatre on the Square, Spotlight Theater, White Rabbit Cabaret, and Second Story Playhouse. [1] [2] INDYPROV has also performed for NUVO, Boy Scouts of America, and Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival’s production of “Fractions of Desire”, based on the classic Tennessee Williams’ play “A Streetcar Named Desire”.
INDYPROV has also performed in New York City and in January 2009, they opened the comedy festival "Improvapalooza" in Louisville, Kentucky.
INDYPROV has two original cast members (Niki Warner and William C. Skaggs). One additional cast member (Jerry Johnson) was added after the second set of classes conducted by Brunoehler. Three members were trained at The Second City Training Center in Chicago. The cast comprises 24 players total, including a creative director, assistant creative director and a musical director.
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After attending one of the troupe's shows, Simmons approached INDYPROV and asked them to create a tongue-in-cheek piece based on an article they’d received that listed West Lafayette, Indiana as one of the top ten cities in America for singles. INDYPROV filmed a segment for PBS affiliate, WFYI’s "Across Indiana" during the summer of 2006 entitled “For A First-Rate First Date” and received the news from the show’s Executive Producer regarding the Emmy nomination.[3]
Mock-U-Dramedies was a show conceived by INDYPROV for the 2006 Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival. The show received 4.5 stars from NUVO (newspaper). The show was then again produced to open the comedy festival "Improvapalooza" in Louisville, Kentucky. The troupe plans to perform the show for the 2009 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. In the show, the audience will give the troupe suggestions and they will interweave scenes together to make documentary. A "director" acts as the host fast-forwarding and rewinding through his latest film.
Welcome to Blanksville: A Tribute to Choose Your Own Adventure was a show conceived by INDYPROV for the 2009 Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival. In August 2009, INDYPROV performed 5 stagings of the original production Welcome to Blanksville: An Improvised Tribute To Choose Your Own Adventure as part of the Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival at the Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis). [4] [5]
Laff-a-thon was created in 2007 by INDYPROV as a twelve hour "marathon-type" charity show to benefit HIV/AIDS prevention organization, the Damien Center. The event returned in February 2009 and benefited twelve national and local charities. For the first time in 2009, ComedySportz Indianapolis performed with INDYPROV at Theatre on the Square on Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis which is one of the Indianapolis Cultural Districts.[6]
The 2011 list of charities benefiting from laff-a-thon was:[7] [8] [9]
The 2010 list of charities benefiting from laff-a-thon was:[10] [11]
The 2009 list of charities benefiting from laff-a-thon was:[12]